Are You My Mother?
by Watermelonsaregood
Summary: Rachel isn't Beth's mother, so why does her daughter keep calling her "Mom"?


**Title**: Are You My Mother?  
**Pairing**: Rachel/Quinn. Also Beth.  
**Rating**: PG  
**Length**: 1,000+ (1,111. Ahhh!)  
**Spoilers**: None  
**Summary**: A fill for a LJ prompt- Rachel isn't Beth's mother, so why does her daughter keep calling her "Mom"?  
**A/N**: Ugh, I haven't written anything in quite a while. I'm not purposely ignoring fanfiction, but inspiration has been... lacking. :\ I really missed filling LJ prompts and I don't have enough Quinn and Beth feelings. Does anyone remember Elmo's World? Remember that funny kazoo song they'd sometimes play? :P  
**A/N 2**: This would actually be a nice fic for Mother's Day (er, Mothers' Day?).

* * *

**Ding-dong**!

Sesame Street is blaring on the television and stuffed animals are scattered on the floor. Beth is on all fours, crawling to towards her new and cuddly Winnie the Pooh bear.

"C'mon, sweetie," Quinn says, "Rachie's here!"

For Beth's sake she's considered the thought of calling Rachel 'Aunt', but the honorific doesn't really suit her for some reason... Anyway, variations of her first name work just fine.

These days they're actually really good friends; friends who've bonded over ex-boyfriends (and the near mistake of Rachel's mom almost becoming Beth's mom). And as friends they've planned out a play date for this morning, though Rachel doesn't have a baby of her own and the only kind of 'hanging out' they can do is watch Beth.

The second Beth latches onto her bear, Quinn scoops her baby into her arms to answer the door.

"Hey," Quinn greets happily. She bounces Beth gently in her arms. "Say 'hi' to Rachel, sweetie."

Beth simply coos, glancing at Rachel before returning her attention to her toy.

Holding up a small basket of vegan-bran muffins, Rachel beams. "Good morning to you both! I am painfully aware of the fact that the last time we scheduled for a play date, we specifically said ten AM sharp, and I arrived at exactly nine forty-five-" she quickly checks her cell phone "-this time it's ten o'clock on the dot, but-"

Quinn finishes her sentence for her, "'But baking these muffins was labor of love. Also fifteen minutes.' Da da-da da-da, I know! You said that the last, last time. Now come in before those muffins freeze."

Rachel's smile only grows, face slightly pink. She didn't think Quinn would remember their last, last play date.

Quinn leads her into the living room, stopping by the couch. Did the stuffed animals on the floor procreate already or is she just imagining things?

"Sorry about the mess."

"Oh, it's perfectly fine, Quinn." Rachel takes a free spot on the couch, right next to a frowning lion (that Puck won when the carnival was in town.)

"_Elmo loves his goldfish, his crayon, too_," Elmo sings on the TV as he dances around.

"Oops," Quinn says suddenly. She passes off a giggling Beth to Rachel. "I'll be back, I forgot her bottle in the nursery." And with that, she's out of sight.

"Sure thing."

"_That's Elmo's World!_"

Rachel tries to position Beth on her knee to face the TV, but her Pooh bear keeps getting in the way. Particles of drool fly from Beth's mouth as she blows her lips together. She impatiently squirms in place as Rachel continues to readjust her.

"Hang on, baby... Oh no, um..." Winnie the Pooh falls to the floor with a silent thud.

In the background, the sound of a kazoo plays as a gaggle of children eat slices of birthday cake. Apparently Elmo is focusing on birthdays today. The song almost sounds as if it's mocking Rachel- and her inability to hold a baby properly.

Rachel pouts, insulted. She decides to sit on the floor with Beth instead.

"Here we go," she says, letting Beth crawl around.

Beth makes her happy baby sounds as she moves towards another toy, her previous one forgotten. The new one isn't an animal, but instead, a stuffed gold star.

Like a puppy, Beth carries it in her mouth, bringing it over to her spot with Rachel.

She gently pries it away from Beth, fiddling with the 'Made-In-China' tag. "Aww, I bought this for you the last, last time I came over. I'm so exceptionally flattered you remembered, baby."

"Mm-mm," Beth replies, then continues to babble.

Setting the star aside, Rachel gives her index finger for Beth to hold. "Quinn didn't say you were able to talk yet. Is this one of your many attempts to communicate with-"

"Mom."

It comes out as a soft gurgling, but the simple word is enough to make Rachel jump.

The first time she's ever spoken! "Mom" is her first word- yet her legitimate mother isn't here!

"W-what did you say?" Rachel immediately blurts, head whipping around for her mother. She needs to see- hear this! "Quinn! Quinn! Come here quick! It's Beth!"

Sensing the tone of panic in her voice, Quinn rushes over from the next room. She drops the plastic bottle onto the carpet, getting on her hands and knees beside her friend.

"W-what, what is it?! Did she fall?"

Beth hums the first consonant, then says again, "Mom." She says it in a row, "Mom, mom, mom, mom."

"Her first word!" Rachel exclaims giddily, "you almost missed it!"

Quinn blinks, then whacks her on the arm. "I didn't miss anything! I just missed the chance to tell you she already started talking."

"Ow," Rachel mumbles, rubbing her arm, "Well, I'm _sorrr-ry_ I failed in trying to preserve a potentially momentous moment for you in your daughter's life!"

Quinn snorts at her sing-song tone, but pauses. "Wait, her first word was 'Mama'..."

"So? 'Mom' is her second one, no big deal."

"Mom, mom, mom," Beth pipes in.

It's perfect and innocent, her eyes twinkling as she says it. The only problem is... she's looking directly at _Rachel_.

Both teenage girls stare at each other.

"She was saying it to me/you!" they yell at the same time, pointing back and forth between the baby and Rachel (at herself, in Rachel's case).

They're not even married or dating. Beth hasn't even said "Dada" or "Daddy" yet when Puck visits. After 9 months of carrying her, feeling fat; and 9 months of raising her, _this_ is what she gets? Beth's only said "Mama" once, and sadly Quinn hasn't been able to reproduce any similar results until now. Why Rachel?

Beth must have called Rachel "Mom" five times by now!

"_You're_ not her mom," Quinn practically roars, offended, "_I'm_ her mom!" She gestures open handed at herself, accidentally slapping her own chest.

Rachel answers back, indignant, "Well, it's not _my_ fault she said it!"

Quinn shakes her head, "Whatever." She turns to her baby, begging, "Sweetie, say, 'Mama'?"

The moment of truth... Beth smiles at her mother, then Rachel. She coos to Quinn, "Mama." Then to Rachel, "Mom."

It's two versions of the same word, same meaning, and same intent; directed at two different people.

"...She thinks we're her parents!"

"You _are_! But _I'm_ not!"

They bicker/speculate about it for a few minutes until Beth starts to cry the minute Sesame Street is over. Quinn fetches and cleans her bottle, finding a new one in the fridge while Rachel sings a lullaby to calm Beth down.

The trio falls eventually falls asleep, cuddling together on the couch.


End file.
